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Tuesday, 8 November 2016

Trump Campaign Sues Over Nevada Voting

The Trump campaign filed a lawsuit on Tuesday seeking to have votes in Nevada impounded on the grounds that poll workers illegally extended early voting hours to accommodate people who were waiting in long lines.

Thousands of Hispanic voters lined up outside polling places to vote last Friday in Clark County, which is home to Las Vegas and has the state’s largest Hispanic population. Record turnout has raised fears among Republicans that they could lose the battleground state and Trump campaign officials have been complaining that the extension of hours in some locations is evidence that the election is rigged.

The lawsuit alleges that the people were allowed to vote illegally because they cast ballots after the published closing times at polling places.

The campaign also sent a letter to Nevada’s secretary of state asking for an investigation into the allegations of “egregious violations.”

“The incidents that occurred on Friday night should be troubling to anyone who is interested in free and fair elections,” Charles Muñoz, Mr. Trump’s Nevada state director, said. “Voters who showed up after the scheduled closing times at selected locations were allowed to vote, while those who were not able to make it to other early voting sites by the posted closing times were denied the right to cast their ballots.”

A hearing was abruptly scheduled on Tuesday afternoon in Nevada to address the matter. A lawyer for the Trump campaign sought information about poll workers at certain locations and asked for records and logbooks from certain polling locations to be separated and preserved.

Judge Gloria Sturman denied the Trump campaign’s requests and appeared dumbfounded by the lawsuit.

“What are you saying?” she asked. “Why are we here?”

The Nevada secretary of state and the Clark County Registrar did not respond to requests for comment.